A new social governance program was officially released on Nov 22 in Beijing.
The Beijing municipal government announced that the public services system will be refined through ten community projects in the areas of community employment, social security, elder-care, the disabled and health and family planning.
The fifteen minute community service circle and provision of self-access services and administration in old residential area projects will cover the entire city by 2020. To support the new model, better pay for social workers will also be in place.
“The fifteen minute community service circle refers to ensuring that residents can enjoy community services , such as beauty salons, facilities for paying utility bills, laundry services and grocery shopping, within a 15 minute circular walk,” said Song Guilun, deputy secretary of the Beijing municipal social work committee, adding that 1,336 circles are in use to date.
Regarding increased payment to social workers, Song said “The rise of wages for social workers will be guaranteed with the rise of social income; it reached 5,000 yuan ($ 725) in 2016.”
In addition, the self-access services and administration of old residential areas project is also progressing. Song said, “Approaches like the online-offline resident forum and CPPCC member face-to-face sessions will be used to perfect the project, if applicable.”